Raiders roll dice to get physical in last part of the draft

ALAMEDA -- Day 3 of the NFL draft found Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie giving the green light Saturday to the selection of five defensive players with red flags.

In a sense it's unavoidable since players drafted from the fourth through the seventh rounds are going to have issues.

So it's not surprising that a team that espouses a philosophy of bringing in no-nonsense players with a capacity to work hard, be professional and avoid drama would be willing to overlook some past transgressions and physical problems to get bigger, stronger and faster.

"We wanted to be more physical, because we feel that's the Raider way," McKenzie said.

Ellis played at Louisiana Tech weighing as much as 390 pounds, got down to 334 for the scouting combine and said he is currently at 346. He is expected to contribute on a rotational basis with tackles Pat Sims, Antonio Smith and Stacy McGee as a block-eating run-stopper.

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"I'm a big guy, naturally, and I gain weight easily,'' Ellis said in a conference call. "But I also lose weight easily too, so my weight fluctuates. I haven't lost control of it.''

Said McKenzie: "These guys are young 22-year-olds. He's not going to go around eating salads all day. He'll get in a nutrition plan and he'll be fine.''

McGill (6-3, 211) missed a full season and parts of another at Utah with a shoulder injury and during the rehab process was arrested for DUI and receiving stolen property. He rebounded with an All-Pac-12 senior year in a conference with a lot of good wide receivers.

"I've been trying to stay clean and show everybody that was the past,'' McGill said. "There comes a point of time in life where you make a decision to become a man or remain a boy and that's what I did before the 2013 season.''

A rangy corner in the Richard Sherman mold, McGill will compete with veteran free agent signees Tarell Brown and Carlos Rogers and second-year player DJ Hayden.

Carrie's career at Ohio included missing all of 2009 following hip surgery and a medical redshirt year in 2012 with a broken shoulder. He missed the combine because of a knee injury. He led the Mid-American conference with a 12.7 average returning punts, and the Raiders also like his size (6-foot, 212) and potential at cornerback.

The Antioch native said he felt he alleviated the Raiders' fears with a solid pro day workout.

"He's probably a better player than where we drafted him, and he was rehabbing from an offseason injury,'' McKenzie said. "He's ready to go. He passed our physical.''

Harris didn't play in 2013, dismissed from Illinois State for conduct detrimental to the team. In 2012, Harris started 13 games and was an all-Missouri Valley Football Conference, recording 85 tackles, seven sacks and 16 tackles for losses.

A defensive tackle in college, Harris projects as a 6-foot-2, 288-pound end with the Raiders.

He said he appreciated Raiders area scout Trey Scott talking to him ``like a man'' and called his suspension ``heartbreaking'' but declined to go into details.

"I'm just going to say I made some mistakes and I've moved on,'' Harris said. "I've grown from them. In the end, it's made me a better person and made me who I am today.''

Dowling had a solid career at Western Kentucky as a safety after transferring from Florida after being dismissed from the team as a freshman because of a dispute with his freshman coach.

In assessing players with off-the-field issues, McKenzie said that aside from skill and effort, he looks for remorse.

"You come away saying, 'I am going to give him a chance,' or, 'I'm not,' '' McKenzie said. "That's why we made that decision on a couple of guys today.''

The Raiders finished with six defensive players and two offensive players, and regarding the emphasis on size, said, "We want to do the pushing around. You do that with big people.''

Undrafted Notre Dame running back and former Livermore High star George Atkinson III announced he'd join the Raiders on his Twitter account.

The Raiders as a matter of policy don't release names until contracts are signed but McKenzie said of the son of former Raider George Atkinson, "He'd better not renege.''